But every phone has week spots. Now, we’re not perfect: we made it very visible (with a little help from some of our friends from certain websites).
EDIT:
If you read all these articles out there, you might think half our customers have had complaints about this issue. What percent have actually called Apple about this? One half of one percent. 0.55%.
I'm calling this joke now. "More people would call you about it if the call wasn't dropped!"
Though this seems to be turning into another "those damn <news agencies, bloggers>" rants from Steve. Don't do that Steve. Makes you look like a prick.
0.5% of iPhone 4 users is still roughly 10,000 units. Not an insignificant figure.
If Apple really just keeps runnign with "You idiots should have known better" as their line, today may well mark the day that the public turned on Apple. Cell phones have been around for a logn term, internal antennas have been around for years, no one ever had this issue on this scale before, so it is absurd to hold a press conference all about "it's not us, it's everyone, even though no one else ever noticed this with everyone else to this degree."
On the other hand, a lot of the hyping up on blogs and the like does lead the public. See: the redefining of the term "tablet" to whatever apple was doing years before the ipad was announced.
0.5% of iPhone 4 users is still roughly 10,000 units. Not an insignificant figure.
Actually, if their 3m number is accurate, its more like 16,500. But still, 0.55% sounds pretty low. It'd probably have been better if more people (if more people experienced the issue) had reported it. I know someone in the Tech Tavern mentioned that not everyone with the issue is calling and reporting it. I wish those people would. If the number of people [strike]effected ([/strike] affected [strike]?)[/strike] is bigger then it would benefit everyone to know that.
[ed] Also, next hardware revision, I bet the antenna design is tweaked in some way. The gap is made smaller so its tougher to bridge and get your finger in there, or they put a clearcoat of something over it.
[ed Mk II] Thanks for the English help, gentlemen. I saw that Magus`.
0.5% of iPhone 4 users is still roughly 10,000 units. Not an insignificant figure.
Actually, if their 3m number is accurate, its more like 16,500. But still, 0.55% sounds pretty low. It'd probably have been better if more people (if more people experienced the issue) had reported it. I know someone in the Tech Tavern mentioned that not everyone with the issue is calling and reporting it. I wish those people would. If the number of people effected (affected?) is bigger then it would benefit everyone to know that.
affected.
It's clear that holding the phone that way drops bars. But does it drop CALLS. Real-world experience is the only thing that matters here.
I can reproduce this problem on my 3GS, but I have no issues with dropped calls.
Edit: And you can bet that next summer's revision will have a demonstration showing it's fixed, or at least improved.
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Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
I don't know if this affects the statistical prevalence of the issue, but it was mentioned somewhere that issues regarding dropped calls/reception probably go to AT&T, not AppleCare. Was that part of the statistic taken into consideration in the 0.55%?
Edit: I'd like to add that I think this is probably the best response you could reasonably expect from Apple, and despite the sidestepping and hedging, they *are* offering a solution to the problem.
Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
Not to mention the Apple backlash has been in full force for a while now, and loads of people would love to see the iPhone taken down a peg or three.
That's not to say there wasn't a problem that needed to be addressed, but it's hard to gauge the extent of it from Internet talk alone.
I don't know if this affects the statistical prevalence of the issue, but it was mentioned somewhere that issues regarding dropped calls/reception probably go to AT&T, not AppleCare. Was that part of the statistic taken into consideration in the 0.55%?
Edit: I'd like to add that I think this is probably the best response you could reasonably expect from Apple, and despite the sidestepping and hedging, they *are* offering a solution to the problem.
No, but they showed a separate statistic from AT&T about dropped calls. The data's that basically the iPhone 4 experiences less than 1 more dropped call per 100 than the iPhone 3GS did.
I think I read that right. So for every 100 dropped calls that AT&T has the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS are about the same number of calls within that block of 100.Jobs said AT&T doesn't release the data straight out, but he could give us the delta. So... yeah. :P
[ed] Reading the Q&A stuff. John Gruber is such a smarmy fuck. I need to quit reading DF.
[ed Mk II]
11:03AM Q: Would you have done anything differently knowing what you know now?
Steve: Well, of course the Consumer Reports stuff was bad, and of course we would have liked to get on this sooner. We just got this data. We just learned what was going on. We're an engineering company. We think like engineers. We love it, we think it's the right way to solve real problems. I don't think that's going to change, and the way we love our customers isn't going to change. Maybe it's human nature -- when you're doing well, people want to tear you down. I see it happening with Google, people trying to tear them down. And I don't understand it... what would you prefer? That we were a korean company, that we were here in America leading the world with these products... maybe it's just that people want to get eyeballs on their sites. We've been around for 34 years... haven't we earned the credibility and the trust of the press? I think we have that from our users. I didn't see it exhibited by some of the press as this was blown so far out of proportion. I'm not saying we didn't make a mistake -- we didn't know that it would have these issues, we didn't know we were putting a bull's eye on the phone... but this has been so overblown. But to see how we could do better is going to take some time.
That's not the way it works, Steve. You goof when you're this big, and you get called on it.
I like the big attack on the bloomberg article. Total bullshit lol.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
I like the big attack on the bloomberg article. Total bullshit lol.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
I'm pretty sure Steve should've said "COPYRIGHTED" right after that. Either that or Eminem tripped over himself to call his marketing people. Wait. Does Eminem still have marketing people? Is that dude still around? I'm waiting for a VH1 Behind the Music special on him like Vanilla Ice's.
I like the big attack on the bloomberg article. Total bullshit lol.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
I'm pretty sure Steve should've said "COPYRIGHTED" right after that. Either that or Eminem tripped over himself to call his marketing people. Wait. Does Eminem still have marketing people? Is that dude still around? I'm waiting for a VH1 Behind the Music special on him like Vanilla Ice's.
o_O
he uh just released a new album in june that sold 1.1 million copies in the first 2 weeks (#1 on billboard)
he is very much still around
I like the big attack on the bloomberg article. Total bullshit lol.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
I'm pretty sure Steve should've said "COPYRIGHTED" right after that. Either that or Eminem tripped over himself to call his marketing people. Wait. Does Eminem still have marketing people? Is that dude still around? I'm waiting for a VH1 Behind the Music special on him like Vanilla Ice's.
Eminem released a new album last month if I remember correctly. It was ok.
I like the big attack on the bloomberg article. Total bullshit lol.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
I'm pretty sure Steve should've said "COPYRIGHTED" right after that. Either that or Eminem tripped over himself to call his marketing people. Wait. Does Eminem still have marketing people? Is that dude still around? I'm waiting for a VH1 Behind the Music special on him like Vanilla Ice's.
o_O
he uh just released a new album in june that sold 1.1 million copies in the first 2 weeks (#1 on billboard)
he is very much still around
I'm in-touch with the Billboard chart and the artists on it. Can't you tell?
Steve'd better really get on that then. Does anyone else see Eminem (who for some reason I've always thought must have a pretty good sense of humor) going "I could totally do that, make an iPhone 4 Eminem Bandaid Case. It'd be hilarious."
Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
Not to mention the Apple backlash has been in full force for a while now, and loads of people would love to see the iPhone taken down a peg or three.
That's not to say there wasn't a problem that needed to be addressed, but it's hard to gauge the extent of it from Internet talk alone.
A huge part of that Internet talk is the flippant arrogance of Apple, so threre's that too.
Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
Not to mention the Apple backlash has been in full force for a while now, and loads of people would love to see the iPhone taken down a peg or three.
That's not to say there wasn't a problem that needed to be addressed, but it's hard to gauge the extent of it from Internet talk alone.
A huge part of that Internet talk is the flippant arrogance of Apple, so threre's that too.
What would you prefer? That they were a Korean company? (I seriously still have no idea what that part of their Q&A was even supposed to mean)
What would you prefer? That they were a Korean company? (I seriously still have no idea what that part of their Q&A was even supposed to mean)
Jobs really isn't a fan of criticism at all, and he's got something against the media. Apple's gone to court a few times to try to get reporters to have to reveal their sources about stuff that's been printed about Apple and Apple products. He also made a swipe today at bloggers (Engadget?) saying they (media/blogs) all talk to each other too much. It's really weird. I don't think Apple would be doing as well as they are right now with all the press they get. People get excited about Apple stuff, so media outlets write about it, which gets more people excited and the existing fans more excited, and the cycle keeps going.
reading from the transcript that Q&A seems like it went on far longer than it should have and turned into a repetitive shitshow that probably ended up hurting jobs' message more than it helped
They should've just cut it off half way through instead of being forced to retread the crap
Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
Not to mention the Apple backlash has been in full force for a while now, and loads of people would love to see the iPhone taken down a peg or three.
That's not to say there wasn't a problem that needed to be addressed, but it's hard to gauge the extent of it from Internet talk alone.
A huge part of that Internet talk is the flippant arrogance of Apple, so threre's that too.
What would you prefer? That they were a Korean company? (I seriously still have no idea what that part of their Q&A was even supposed to mean)
I think he was trying to comment on how many of the other smartphone makers are from the Far East. Which would resonate better if their major competitors in both hardware and software weren't American or Canadian.
What would you prefer? That they were a Korean company? (I seriously still have no idea what that part of their Q&A was even supposed to mean)
Jobs really isn't a fan of criticism at all, and he's got something against the media. Apple's gone to court a few times to try to get reporters to have to reveal their sources about stuff that's been printed about Apple and Apple products. He also made a swipe today at bloggers (Engadget?) saying they (media/blogs) all talk to each other too much. It's really weird. I don't think Apple would be doing as well as they are right now with all the press they get. People get excited about Apple stuff, so media outlets write about it, which gets more people excited and the existing fans more excited, and the cycle keeps going.
He's kind of a weird guy.
I like the whole "everyone has this problem! you guys are blowing this out of proportion!"
Yeah Steve, except that the iPhone4 loses more signal than other phones in general, and that the pathological case is essentially "how you hold a phone in your left hand"
I had one call drop on mine today, but I was in a place that has bad coverage anyway so I can't say for sure that it was the phone. Still like the device though (it's the first smartphone I've used).
I think he was trying to comment on how many of the other smartphone makers are from the Far East. Which would resonate better if their major competitors in both hardware and software weren't American or Canadian.
Well, and it isn't like iPhones are assembled in the Midwest or anything. Large portions of the assembly and fab work are outsourced by pretty much everyone as far as I know. So it is kind of stupid.
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You are absolutely adorable though.
It was a YouTube video, come on.
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EDIT:
I'm calling this joke now. "More people would call you about it if the call wasn't dropped!"
For the record, I don't have this issue...
Which Apple chose to show.
I'm interested to see these return rates.
[ed] heehee
iPhone 3GS - 6.0% return rate.
iPhone 4 - 1.7% return rate.
Interesting.
Though this seems to be turning into another "those damn <news agencies, bloggers>" rants from Steve. Don't do that Steve. Makes you look like a prick.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
If Apple really just keeps runnign with "You idiots should have known better" as their line, today may well mark the day that the public turned on Apple. Cell phones have been around for a logn term, internal antennas have been around for years, no one ever had this issue on this scale before, so it is absurd to hold a press conference all about "it's not us, it's everyone, even though no one else ever noticed this with everyone else to this degree."
As for "The public turning on Apple:" whining people in blogs does not make up 100% of the public.
Really, it does sound as if they are trying to make everyone happy.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
[ed] Also, next hardware revision, I bet the antenna design is tweaked in some way. The gap is made smaller so its tougher to bridge and get your finger in there, or they put a clearcoat of something over it.
[ed Mk II] Thanks for the English help, gentlemen. I saw that Magus`.
affected.
It's clear that holding the phone that way drops bars. But does it drop CALLS. Real-world experience is the only thing that matters here.
I can reproduce this problem on my 3GS, but I have no issues with dropped calls.
Edit: And you can bet that next summer's revision will have a demonstration showing it's fixed, or at least improved.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
Yes, the internet does that very well. Plus, with such a popular and hyped item (not exactly inexpensive either) you're going to hear a lot more about it than you would about a phone that didn't get nearly the same amount of pre-release press.
Edit: I'd like to add that I think this is probably the best response you could reasonably expect from Apple, and despite the sidestepping and hedging, they *are* offering a solution to the problem.
Not to mention the Apple backlash has been in full force for a while now, and loads of people would love to see the iPhone taken down a peg or three.
That's not to say there wasn't a problem that needed to be addressed, but it's hard to gauge the extent of it from Internet talk alone.
I think I read that right. So for every 100 dropped calls that AT&T has the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS are about the same number of calls within that block of 100.Jobs said AT&T doesn't release the data straight out, but he could give us the delta. So... yeah. :P
[ed] Reading the Q&A stuff. John Gruber is such a smarmy fuck. I need to quit reading DF.
[ed Mk II] That's not the way it works, Steve. You goof when you're this big, and you get called on it.
Also like how at the end of September when the free case deal comes out they will reevaluate it because who knows eminem might release a bandaid to go over the corner and everyone will want it
he uh just released a new album in june that sold 1.1 million copies in the first 2 weeks (#1 on billboard)
he is very much still around
Eminem released a new album last month if I remember correctly. It was ok.
edit: DAMN YOU DLINFINITI!!!!
Steve'd better really get on that then. Does anyone else see Eminem (who for some reason I've always thought must have a pretty good sense of humor) going "I could totally do that, make an iPhone 4 Eminem Bandaid Case. It'd be hilarious."
A huge part of that Internet talk is the flippant arrogance of Apple, so threre's that too.
What would you prefer? That they were a Korean company? (I seriously still have no idea what that part of their Q&A was even supposed to mean)
He's kind of a weird guy.
They should've just cut it off half way through instead of being forced to retread the crap
RIM?
Oh yeah, always forget about blackberries.
Yeah, its not like an American manufacturer just released a major new Android smartphone yesterday...
Edit: You also have to consider software as well. And in that case, the options are mostly North American in origin.
I like the whole "everyone has this problem! you guys are blowing this out of proportion!"
Yeah Steve, except that the iPhone4 loses more signal than other phones in general, and that the pathological case is essentially "how you hold a phone in your left hand"
I had one call drop on mine today, but I was in a place that has bad coverage anyway so I can't say for sure that it was the phone. Still like the device though (it's the first smartphone I've used).
Well, and it isn't like iPhones are assembled in the Midwest or anything. Large portions of the assembly and fab work are outsourced by pretty much everyone as far as I know. So it is kind of stupid.